Germany’s defence industry is preparing a new Team Gen 6 fighter concept after France and Germany abandoned their joint FCAS/NGF effort in its current form, following an inability to bridge industrial and work-share disputes between Dassault Aviation and Airbus.
The breakdown centres on the New Generation Fighter element of the Future Combat Air System, where disagreements over requirements, production split and patent control proved irreconcilable. The governments had been trying to rescue the programme, but the latest position indicates there is no viable path forward for the current configuration.
FCAS was meant to deliver Europe’s next-generation crewed combat aircraft and is one of the continent’s most ambitious defence-industrial programmes. Its collapse is expected to affect European aerospace cooperation, future fighter development and defence industrial sovereignty.